If talks between the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the civic employees' unions do not materialise on Monday, then brace yourself for a few days without basic civic amenities.

If talks between the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the civic employees' unions do not materialise on Monday, then brace yourself for a few days without basic civic amenities.

Over 80,000 civic employees involved in jobs such as garbage collection, dousing fires, monitoring water supply and working in civic hospitals are preparing to go on strike from Monday midnight if their demand of getting salaries on the lines of the sixth pay commission are not met.

However, the unions - Municipal Mazdoor Union (MMU) led by Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Rao and Shiv Sena's Municipal Karmachari Kamgar Sena led by Baba Kadam - have hinted that they would negotiate if deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and working president of Shiv Sena Uddhav Thackeray would intervene in the matter.

"Former municipal commissioner Swadheen Kshatriya had agreed upon 28 of the 33 demands we had put forth and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was also signed. But Kumar has dissolved it," Rao claimed.

He hinted that the final decision would be taken at a public meeting, which will be held at Azad Maidan on Monday afternoon. "It is likely that Pawar and Thackeray will have a discussion and come to a conclusion by Monday evening. We will wait till then," he said.

The civic administration has appealed to the unions that they should not go against the Industrial Act and participate in the strike.

The civic chief also issued a statement warning that those participating in the agitation would lose their salary and would be marked as absent. Also any losses arising out of agitation would be compensated from the salaries of the employees.

Mohan Adtani, additional municipal commissioner, said they were ready to meet any contingency if the employees went on strike. The BMC has decided to take help from home guards, civil defence and various non-government organisations.